8 New Year’s Resolutions for Swimmers to Consider
By Mauro Pacsi, Swimming World College Intern
With the New Year arriving soon, everyone will have high hopes for 2021. A new year brings new opportunities, hope, and of course, New Year’s resolutions. Many people try to stick to their resolutions and while some succeed, most fail. I am no different, but I do think there are a few resolutions swimmers should consider. Here are my eight resolutions swimmers should stick to in 2021.
Do Not Breathe off the Wall
Trust me I get it. Your lungs are on fire in the middle of a difficult set. The need for air after a turn is unbearable but you cannot give in! Breathing off the wall not only sacrifices speed but leads you down the path of this bad habit. If you can eliminate it from your training, then you will not have to worry about it when you race.
Do Your Underwaters
It is a known fact that you are faster under the water than you are on top of it. That is why it is important to put a lot of effort into kicking out off your turns and dive. Swimmers at the highest level like Ryan Lochte, Michael Phelps, and Caeleb Dressel are known for using their underwaters to their advantage. If you can improve your own kick-outs, then you will also have an advantage over the rest of your competitors as well.
Get in the Water on Time
Getting in the water for practice on time is important. The point of getting in on time is to set up the flow for the rest of the practice. If everyone is in the water, then it is likely that the entire practice will get done. You do not want to be the swimmer who jumps in late, makes the group wait, and is responsible for making everyone stay late to finish. Getting in on time shows that you care and are dedicated to not only having a good practice for yourself, but also for your teammates.
Do Not Forget Your Mesh Bag at Home
Truth be told, I have done this many times. It is never fun to be the one swimmer without their mesh bag and gear. You must kick on your back when everyone else uses a kickboard. You cannot swim super-fast wearing fins with the rest of your team because you do not have yours. Lacking your equipment is never fun so please, do not forget your mesh bag!
Leave Five Seconds after the Person Ahead of You
Ah, one of the biggest pet peeves in swimming: not leaving five seconds after the person ahead of you. This universal rule helps ensure that there is enough space between swimmers in a lane as they swim. However, there are swimmers that do not follow this rule and are right on each other’s heels as soon as they leave the wall. Do not be someone who annoys their teammates because you never give them space. It really is not hard, so be courteous and count to five.
Do Your Drills with a Purpose
Drill work is a blessing at practice and should be praised highly. Being able to do drills give you the chance to work out the kinks in your stroke. It is important to be attentive and focused when progressing through your drills. Do not just space out or swim easy because they are a break from harder swimming. Drills can be hard as well, but only if you put your best effort into doing them correctly.
Do Not Repeatedly Stop at Practice
Stopping at practice is something that every swimmer has at least done once in their time in the pool. It happens from time to time, but that does not mean it should be happening consistently. You cannot control when you get an injury or cramp, or when you get lapped by the leader of the lane and must stop. However, you can control how much effort you put in to make your intervals and tell yourself that you can keep going. Stopping just because you feel like it shows that you are not willing to put forth an effort, and that is not something you want. If you feel like you are getting left behind put fins on or do a quick stretch, but after that, be the one to tell yourself that stopping is not an option.
Make Sure You fill up Your Water Bottle
Showing up to practice without any water in your bottle is the worst feeling ever. That is especially true when there is no water fountain at your pool either. It is also really embarrassing to keep asking your teammates for some during practice. Be sure to fill up your bottle, so you do not contemplate drinking pool water. It really does not need to come to that.
While these are a few New Year’s resolutions that I had on my mind, there are many more that you can come up with on your own. You could have one or many, there never is a limit! However, remember that the point of a resolution is for it to be attainable. Make realistic ones that you know will benefit you and push you to be the best version of yourself in the new year! Happy New Year!
All commentaries are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Swimming World Magazine nor its staff.